Issue 114
"Humanity has made little real progress over the past century or so. Technologicalinnovations have taken place, but the overall condition of humanity is no better. War,violence, and poverty are still with us. Technology cannot change the condition ofhumanity."
Have technological innovations of the last century failed to bring about true progress forhumanity, as the statement contends? Although I agree that technology cannot ultimatelyprevent us from harming one another, the statement fails to account for the significantpositive impact that the modern-industrial and computer revolutions have had on thequality of life at least in the developed world.
I agree with the statement insofar as there is no technological solution to the enduringproblems of war, poverty, and violence, for the reason that they stem from certainaspects of human nature--such as aggression and greed. Although future advances inbiochemistry might enable us to "engineer away" those undesirable aspects, in themeantime it is up to our economists, diplomats, social reformers, and jurists--not ourscientists and engineers--to mitigate these problems. Admittedly, many technologicaldevelopments during the last century have helped reduce human suffering. Consider, forinstance, technology that enables computers to map Earth's geographical features fromouter space. This technology allows us to locate lands that can be cultivated for feedingmalnourished people in third-world countries. And, few would disagree that humanity isthe beneficiary of the myriad of 20th-Century innovations in medicine and medicaltechnology--from prostheses and organ transplants to vaccines and lasers.
Yet, for every technological innovation, helping to reduce human suffering is another thathas served primarily to add to it. For example, while some might argue that nuclearweapons serve as invaluable "peace-keepers," this argument flies in the face of thehundreds of thousands of innocent people murdered and maimed by atomic blasts. Morerecently, the increasing use of chemical weapons for human slaughter points out thatso-called "advances" in biochemistry can amount to net losses for humanity.
Notwithstanding technology's limitations in preventing war, poverty, and violence,20th-Century technological innovation has enhanced the overall standard of living andcomfort level of developed nations. The advent of steel production and assembly-line
manufacturing created countless jobs, stimulated economic growth, and supplied aplethora of innovative conveniences. More recently, computers have helped free up ourtime by performing repetitive tasks; have aided in the design of safer and more attractivebridges, buildings, and vehicles; and have made possible universal access to information.
Of course, such progress has not come without costs. One harmful byproduct of industrialprogress is environmental pollution, and its threat to public health. Another is thealienation of assembly-line workers from their work. And, the Internet breeds informationoverload and steals our time and attention away from family, community, and coworkers.Nevertheless, on balance both the modern-industrial and computer revolutions haveimproved our standard of living and comfort level; and both constitute progress by anymeasure.
In sum, enduring problems such as war, poverty, and violence ultimately spring fromhuman nature, which no technological innovation short of genetic engineering can alter.Thus the statement is correct in this respect. However, if we define "progress" morenarrowly--in terms of economic standard of living and comfort level--recent technologicalinnovations have indeed brought about clear progress for humanity.
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